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Five months into the implementation of the Mandatory Provident Fund System, the number of employees having joined the Industry Schemes already exceeds the figure projected by the two service providers for the whole of the year.

The Industry Schemes Committee of the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority (MPFA) was informed today (15 May, 2001) that enrolment in the Industry Schemes had grown steadily over the past half year, surpassing the 130,000 projected mark.  By the end of last month, about 150,000 employees, 10,600 employers and 21,000 self-employed persons have joined the Industry Schemes.

The MPFA pointed out that the two service providers have been very committed and were taking positive measures in overcoming teething difficulties because of participants’ unfamiliarity with the procedures.

Mr Lee Kai-ming, Chairman of the Industry Schemes Committee, said at today’s meeting that the overall operation of the Industry Schemes had been satisfactory.  However, he said operation modes of the catering and construction industries had made it difficult to implement the Industry Schemes.

“In the catering sector, many employees are employed on a temporary basis and turnover is quite high. In the construction industry, the multiple layers of subcontracting result in the multiple status of the workforce; one can be an employer, employee and a self-employed person on the same day.  These operational difficulties had been envisaged when the Industry Schemes were drawn up,” said Mr Lee.

Noting that the MPF was the statutory right of the working population, Mr Lee called on industry practitioners to put forward their views and work together to improve the Industry Schemes.

At today’s meeting, representative from the Hong Kong General Union of Construction Workers (HKGUCW) proposed the setting up of a Construction Authority, whereby MPF contributions could be centralized through advance deduction of five per cent of labour costs in a works contract.

Executive Director (Member Protection) of the MPFA, Mr Ernest Lee responded that works contracts do not cover decoration and maintenance work and workers in the two trades would be deprived of MPF benefits under the proposal.  Workers from these two trades form one-fourth of the construction industry.  Amongst the industry’s self-employed persons, 40 per cent are from decoration and maintenance.

Committee members also agreed that the setting up of a Construction Authority and the implementation of a Workers’ Registration System were prerequisites to the carrying out of the HKGUCW’s recommendations.

The Chairman pointed out that the Industry Schemes was a product of protracted discussion among employees, employers and the MPF industry.  It did not call for fundamental changes to the Schemes which has been in force for just six months, he said, and efforts should be directed to fine-tuning the Schemes.

He reminded employees to contact the MPFA or the Labour Department if they were forced to change to self-employed status.

Members of the Industry Schemes Committee comprise employer and labour representatives from both the construction and catering industries.

As at the end of April, the MPFA had received a total of 2,011 complaints, of which 65% were employer-related.  Among these employer-related cases, about 600 were from the Industry Schemes.  The proportion of complaints against the 150,000-strong Industry Schemes employees was four to 1000.

– Ends –

15 May 2001